Of detroit



May 6 1924. 1,492,787

J. GALAMB INTERRUPTER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE IGNITION CIRCUITS Filed May 15. 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N VEN TOR.

' ATTORNEY.

May 6, 1924. v 1,492,787

' J. GALAMB INTERRUPTER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE IGNITION CIRCUITS Filed May 15, 1920' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNE Y.

' Patented May 6,1924.

' UNITED- STATES 1 492 1 7 PATENT FFICE;

.IosErII GALAMB, or DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR '10- r031) IroToR. COMPANY or DELAWARE, or DETROIT, momeA asoonro'aa'rro ornnnawam NTERRUPTER ron INTEaNA L-comBUsTIoN-ENe n IGNITION cmcUITs.

Application filed m 15, 1920. Serial No. 881,748.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH GAL'AMB, a citizen of the United States, ,residin at Detroit, in the county of iVayne and tate of 6 Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements in an Interrupter forInternal- Combustion-Engine Ignition Circuits, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a new and useful interrupter of simple,

durable and inexpensive construction.

A further object of my invention is to provide an interrupter which is positively moved to make and break the electrical cir- 'cuit through the primary coil of an ignition circuit.

A further object of my invention is to provide such an interrupter adapted to be moved in opposite directions to make and break the contact by a cam device.

A further object of my invention is toprovide such aninterrupter ada ted to automatically wipe the places on t e .contacts where the circuit is completed to thereb clean thesecontacts and make the completion of the circuit more erfect.

A, further object of my lnvention is to provide such an interrupter that 1t may be 1 with very slight modification adapted for motors having any number oflcylinders.

With these and other objects in view, my

invention consists in the arrangement, com

.bination, and construction of the various partsof my improved device, as described In the speclfication, claimed in m claims, and shown in the abcompanying rawings, inwhichz' 'l' Fi re 1 is a side elevation of a distributor aving my improved interrupter installed therein. i. v

Figure 2 is a similar view, parts, being broken away to betterv illustrate the construction.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 3-3 eLFi re 2, and

Figure 4 is an enla detailed viewadapted to illustrate. the operationof the,

upper portion is detachable from the lower.

portion, but is normally held into position on ;the lower portion by pivoted arms 12 which swing into contact with latches 13, thereby holding the upper portion from displacement. g

Extending through the bottom member 10 of the housing is a bushing 14 designed 'to format bearing for a shaft 15. Mounted at the upper end of the shaft 15 are distributor devices 16 which are all of ordinary construction and designed to Y successively close the high tension circuit of the ignition system' through the various sparkplugs of the cylinders of an internal combustion engine. At one side of the bottom member 10 a pintle or bolt '17 is passed u wardly through the member. This pintle 1 has an annular collar 18 intermediate of its ends,

which rests against the top of the bottom member 10 whereby nuts 19 may 'bear against the outside of the bottom member 10 to hold the pintle from movement. Pivoted on the pintle 17 is a forked member 20 whlch has arms extending from the pintle to osition on theopposite side of the cen- I tions 23 of the arms contact substantially continuously with the surfaces of the cam in an -of the positions of its movement,

- where y the rotationof the cam is continuously positively moving the arms toward one of their limits'of movement. Mounted in the bottom 10 at' the side thereof opposite the intle 17 are insulating plates 24. Extends throu h the bottom and throughthe insulatingp ates are a pair of binding sts 25, which in turn contact on the outsi e of the casing with insulating plates 26.' "Insulating sleeves may, if necessary, surround'these binding posts within the bottom member so that they will be insulated from the casin or housing '10.:

Mounted on-the bin ing 25 within the housing are plates 27 which have turned up end portions 28. A slot 29 may be provlded in the plates '27 adjacent to one of the binding posts 25 for adjusting the position of the plate; I

The portions 28 which are turned up from the plate 27 may be extended laterally to position between the arms of the forked member and the ends of these extensions 28 bent upon themselves to form retaining members which limit the action of the springs 30. Fixed to the turned up portions 28 are the ends of springs 30,whi ch extend along the extensions 28 to positlon where their ends will be received within the retaining portions at the ends of the extensions.

Mounted on the ends of each of the springs 30 and the arms of the forked member are contact members 31 whereby the end of each of the arms may complete a.

contact through the end of one of the springs.

From the description of the foregoing parts, it will be seen that if the binding posts 25 be connected electrically in the primary coil circuit for an internal combustion engine, then, the swinging of the arms of the forked member may bring together and separate the pairs of contacts 31 to successively open and close the circuit through the primary of the coil. It will be understood that the battery, or magneto, or other source of electric energy used, is ordinarily grounded into the frame or engine of the machine so that completing the circuit through the contacts 31 will cause it to return on through the arms of the forked member into the frame or engine. It will also be noted that, if the cam 22 be properly shaped, then, that rotation of the cam, together with the contact of the arms therewith at either side of the cam, will cause a regular swinging or oscillation of the arms whereby the circuit may be closed and opened through the pairs of contacts 31 alternately at regular intervals. It will further be seen that if the cam is arranged with four peaks and corresponding depressions, then, that there will be four oscillations of the forked member and conseuently the circuit will be completed t rough each pair of contacts four times, which makes the device adapted for an eight cylinder motor. The device may, however, be used with a four cylinder motor by merely omitting one pair of the contacts 31.

My cam structure is intended to be so arranged that it will contact with the arms disposed at opposite sides thereof to positively move these arms successively -in opposite directions at regular, or substantially regular intervals. In the example here illustrated the cam is shown as constructed for a four or eight cylinder motor, but it will be understood that the cam may be ders.

readily adapted for a motor havin an number of cylinders,-it being arrange wit 1 peaks and corresponding depressions equalling the number of cylinders where there are an odd number of cylinders and with one-half as many or the same number of peaks and depressions as there are cylinders where there are an even number of cylin- It will be understood that thisexplanation is applicable only where thecam is mounted on the cam shaft of a four stroke 0 'cle internal combustion. engine or on a shaft rotating at a corresponding speed, but that the cam may be so arranged that it may be mounted on a shaft operating at a relatively different speed.

In constructing a cam adapted to co-act with the forked member used in connection with my invention, I have found it desirable to work out the shape of the sides or working surfaces of the cam by laying out the parts either on a drawing board or by means of a small model. The centers for the shaft 15 and the pintle 17 may then be selected and the throw of the forked member determined. A portion is then laid off to'correspond to the cam and so outlined that the centers of the peaks may be determined. Where the cam is intended to be used for a four cylinder or eight cylinder motor as in the example here illustrated, then the arms should contact with the cam at points about 22 degrees around the cam from the ends of a diameter perpendicular to a line between the pivot center of the forked member and the shaft center. Where the cam is intended for a six cylinder motor the arms should contact with the cam at a point substantially 15 degrees from the diameter de scribed. The rule by which the int of contact of the arms with the cam is determined is, however, that the points of contact should be spaced a sufficient distance apart so that when one arm is contacting with the central portion of a peak, then, that the other arm may contact with substantially the central portion of what I have termed a de ression, which is located on the side of t e cam opposite the point of contact of the first arm. It will, therefore,

be seen that where there are an odd number Ill of cylinders the arms may, if desired, contact with the cam at opposite ends of a diameter. Where, however, there are an even number of cylinders. the points of contact are offset from a diameter as before described. y i

It will be understood that while I have ing posts as being mounted on the casing proper, yet that they may be mounted upon a movable member within the casing as is illustrated in Figure 2 whereby the movable member may be movedwithin the casin to adjust the position of the forked mem r described the forked member and the bindrelative to the cam to thereby change thetime that the contact is closed relative to a given position of the cam.

Among the most important advantages arising from the use of my improved interrupter ma be mentioned the positive drive whereby the forked members may be oscillated at regular intervals and at a substantially constant speed. It is, therefore, possible to determine thetime of closure of the primary circuits of the coils with what may be termed absolute accuracy. The positions of the contacts 31, which are supportedby the plates 27, may be nicely adjusted by swinging these plates on the slots 29 to accurately determine the length of contact between the contacts 31. The provision of the extensions 28? limits an undue swinging of the springs 30 due to the oscillation of the forked member being substantially the same as the vibration frequency of the spring 30.

A definite advantage resides in the fact that the contacts 31 of each pair move upon each other when they are together due to the swinging of the forked member and. the play of the spring, thereby causing a wiping action to render the contact more rfect. The constant action of the arms on t ecam also has a continuous wiping action so that at both places where the electrical circuit passes between movable parts, there aresurfaces which are mechanically kept clean to thereby better transmit the electrical energy. It will further be noted that the device may be operated with the shaft 15 and cam r0- tating in either direction, the only requisite being that the forked member reaches the limits of its oscillation at substantially the time that a spark should occur within a cyl- 0 inder to ignite the charge therein.

A further advantage resides in the fact that the entire device,,with the exception of the springs 30, may be constructed of rigid materials, so that by giving these materials a requisite strength the device may be made to lastindefinitely. It is also pointed out that the movement of the springs 30 is so slight and relatively slow that these springs will last substantially as long as the remaining parts of the device. a

Some changes may be made in the arrangement and construction of thevarious parts of my improved device without departin from the spirit of the invention therein and it is my intention to cover by m claims such changes as may be reasona ly included within the scope thereof:

I claim as my invention:

1. In an interrupter, a casing, a pair of contacts therein, a forked lever pivoted in said casing and adapted to be moved into contact with both ofsaid contacts, and a cam device mounted within said casing between the forksof said lever, said lever and cam device being so disposed that the forks of the lever contact with the periphery of the cam on the side thereof opposite the pivotal support of the lever.

, a 2. In an interrupter, a casing, a pair of contacts therein, a forked lever pivoted in said casing and adapted to be moved into contact with both of said contacts and a cam device mounted within said casing between the forks of said lever, said lever and cam device being so disposed that-the forks of the lever contact with the periphery of the cam on the side thereof 0 posite the pivotal support of the lever an the places of contact with the forks of the cam being at substantially degrees from each other.

' JOSEPH GALAMB. 

